A chance for a bullish 3-peat

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Wall Street was looking to make it three straight days of gains Wednesday, with anticipation of the Federal Reserve statement expected to be a driving force for the session.

At 8 a.m. ET, S&P and Nasdaq futures were were up narrowly after being lower in early trading. A comparison to fair value pointed to a higher open.

Futures gained after Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley (Charts) posted a record first quarter profit that beat forecasts.

Investors will be listening to the 11 a.m. ET conference call from the company for details about the firm's exposure to problems in the subprime mortgage sector.

Morgan Stanley did not mention subprime anywhere in the earnings statement, although it said that it had a favorable position during the quarter in the residential mortgage market.

The Fed is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged as it concludes its two-day meeting at 2:15 p.m. ET.

But investors and economists will be closely looking at the statement for clues as to what the central bank is thinking about the future of interest rates. Some are hoping for the Fed to signal concern about problems in the subprime mortgage market and housing, which might lift hopes for a future rate cut.

There are no significant economic readings due ahead of Fed statement in the afternoon.

Wachovia chief economist John Silvia said he expects little in the way of moves in stocks ahead of 2:15 p.m., as investors wait to see the tone of the Fed statement.

Silvia said he believes a key for the markets Wednesday will be if the statement mentions the problems in the subprime mortgage sector.

"I think the Fed (committee members) will say they are watching the subprime situation, that the outlook for the economy is still positive and that there is still a risk of inflation," said Silvia. "If they do that, I think that stocks rally because investors will say there's little chance that the Fed will raise rates any time this year and maybe there will be a rate cut. But if they don't mention subprime, I think market could sell off because there will be perception that the Fed is too focused on inflation and not looking at the real world."

Treasury prices were little changed, leaving the the yield on the 10-year note holding to the 4.55 percent level late Tuesday.

Stocks in Asia ended mixed, with markets in Japan shut for the vernal equinox. Markets in Europe were narrowly higher in early trading. The dollar was higher against the euro and the yen.

Oil prices rose ahead of the government's inventory report due at 10:30 a.m. ET. U.S. light crude prices gained 50 cents to $59.75 a barrel in electronic trading.

In corporate news, tech bellwether Oracle (Charts) reported better than expected earnings and revenue outlook after the close Tuesday. Shares of the business software provider gained 3.4 percent in after-hours trading, and were up 5 percent in heavy trading in Frankfurt early Wednesday.

Real-estate magnate Sam Zell is negotiating a revised offer for newspaper publisher and broadcaster Tribune Co. (Charts), according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. The company also reported a 3.4 percent drop in revenue in February, despite slight upticks in broadcast and local newspaper advertising in the period, as national print and classified ad revenue continued to slide.

Adobe Systems (Charts) reported better than expected earnings after the close Tuesday, lifting its shares 3.7 percent in after-hours trading.

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